freaking delicious friday dinners

Today marks the first ever Freaking Delicious Friday Dinner in the Borton household. It all started a couple weeks ago when I finally admitted to myself that I don’t like cooking—I’m much more of a semi-homemade, assemble-the-ingredients kind of girl. Unfortunately for me, Brian grew up with a mother who cooked delicious meals every day, and he sort of misses hot, home-cooked food.

Thus, we compromised and agreed that every Friday night I would make a tasty, hot, home-cooked meal from scratch (well, mostly from scratch—I don’t intend to make my own pasta by hand or anything!). Our hope is that these dinners will provide more quality time with friends, or even just with each other if nobody is around.

When sharing the idea with our friends Karen and Greg, Karen decided the dinners needed a name—and thus, the term Freaking Delicious Friday Dinner was born. Here is what we’re making tonight…

Drain and rinse soaked cashews. With the food processor turned on, drop in your garlic cloves and process until chopped. Add in the rest of the ingredients and process until smooth, scraping down the bowl as needed.

Preheat oven to 400F. In a large skillet, sautee onion and garlic over low-medium heat for 5 minutes. Now add in the rest of the veggies and sautee for another 10-15 minutes. Season well with kosher salt and black pepper. This is key or you will have bland tasting vegetables in your lasagna. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to boil. Boil lasagna noodles for 8 minutes, drain, and rinse immediately with cold water. Add 1 cup of pasta sauce on the bottom of your casserole dish. Add a layer of noodles, half the basil cheeze sauce, half the vegetables, more pasta sauce, another layer of noodles, veggie burger crumbles (optional), the rest of the cheeze sauce, the rest of the vegetables, more pasta sauce, and finally a sprinkle of cheese. Cover with tinfoil and prick with fork a few times. Bake at 400F for 40-45 minutes and then remove tinfoil and broil for 5 minutes on medium. Watch closely so you don’t burn the edges. Remove and serve. Will keep in the fridge for at least 3-4 days.

Do you like to cook? Why or why not?

P.S. Would you be interested in me doing a post every Friday with the planned Friday Dinner recipe? Let me know in the comments below!